It seems as if questions in the "Favorite" genre spark the liveliest (apologies to all of or deceased friends)discussions. So hows about ya'll sounding off on your personal favorite concert venues (doesn't necessarily have to be a place the Dead played). Mine would have to be Red Rocks, the combination of amazing natural beauty with the acoustics make it stand head and shoulders above others (IMHO). By region, I would put SPAC up there for the East. On the flip side, I would have to say my least favorite place I ever saw a show was in the old stadium in Foxborough, MA. The place was a concrete nightmare, parking was a mess, traffic in and out was horrific, not to mention the shortage of restrooms prompted many to find other alternatives, the most horrible being at the top of rather steep embankment which dropped off into one of the main parking lots. Needless to say, by the end of a show this area resembled Niagra Falls, only combine the liquid volume with an unbelievable stench and also throw in a brain with already amplified senses. Not good to say the least. A candidate for the strangest venue would have to be the old Brendan Byrne Arena (now Continental Airlines Arena)which for those who have never been is located next to Giants Stadium. The strange comes into play when an evening Dead show corresponded with an afternoon Giants game. During one such confluence I attended, I was throughly entertained watching as the Giants crowd exited the Stadium while the Dead crowd was entering the Arena. Fire and Water. Drunks and Tweekers. There is nothing like the look on a NY football fans face when confronted with a huge pack of hacky-sacking, patuli oil wearing, unwashed (some, not all), tripping, unshaved (again, some, not all), perma-grin sporting Heads. Priceless.

Prior to confluencing with the eternal oneness now being experienced, there were several venues on your planet that for one reason or another, the boys almost always played well. I like that some people have admitted not liking shows at a venue, but also saying hte band always played well there.

The Spectrum in Philly- The #1 venue on the east coast for Morning Dew over the years- just edging out MSG for that title- (7 times to 6 times)

There was magic in the spectrum- and while there was a clunker here and there- it was mostly in the 90's- The entire 80's saw a strong run of Philly shows.

MSG also seemed to bring the best out of the boys on most nights.

The Brendan Byrne or Giants Stadium- one thing was assured-the show would sparkle or suck- there was no in between.

The Capitol Theater in Passaic was a great venue- it was torn down too soon.

As for favorite place to GO to a show- MSG hands down- NYC-greatest city on your planet- Once you got beyond those that sang along in droves- the place just had an enormous energy to it.

It would be cool to have you'all further distinguish between your favorite venue to go to- and the venues you thought the band played the best in consistently.

Since I have so much time on my hands now, I analyzed where Dew was played- of 256 performances- only 109 were done west of the Mississippi. 8 were played in Europe. So 141 were played east of the MS. Of those 141

28 played in New York State-
9 were played in NJ- not many for the number of shows there

12 were played in PA

If you look at post retirement only

17 in NY
5 in NJ

Dews were rare in Jersey- BUt the boys wanted to play that song in New York, Philly, Oakland/SF, and Denver

Perhaps what those venues all have in common is that they showcase the dynamic range of the band the best- Dew has sopme of the quitest moments and greatest crescendos of all the dead songs- and the right building highlighted that-

Boy oh boy, reading this thread makes me believe furthur that I was born too late and/or on the wrong coast...sure are some lucky heads on this forum. When I got on the bus it was big venue after big venue; it sure would have been nice to see the boys in a more intimate setting...No complaints though, I was lucky enough to see JGB and Garcia/Grisman at some small venues, but in terms of GD I'd say Silver Stadium, Rochester, NY 6/30/88 was a good one for the stadium generation, and overall I'd say my favorite was probably Deer Creek. I would've loved to have seen a GD show at the Gorge in George, WA...

1st show was Boston Garden 5/7/77 but too young and high to remember much. Outside at Riverport Amphitheater in St. Louis was nice. Saw Phil & Friend and Ratdog at the Fox Theater in St louis and could only dream of seeing the Dead there. Small, very intimate venue. Very ornate- painted ceilings that were multi tiered, lion statues with glowing eyes as you enter the seating area from the lobby. I listen to that 5/16/77 from there and man, what a time those folks must of had. great show by the way if you haven't heard it. My brother saw them several times at Red Rocks and would make it his #1 venue by far. he was at Oxford too!

Having lived in both the Bay Area and Colorado I have been to both the Greek Theatre and Red Rocks numerous times. Hands down the Greek is better to me. Man made or not the seats surround the stage as opposed to red rocks where it just keeps going up and up and up.I never got to see the Dead either place though : (

Wish I could say I saw them at Winterland or even the Kaiser where they were unbeleivably still playing up to 6 months before I saw my first show ( 89 ). Oh yeah, the Great American Music Hall is awesome too, can't imagine seeing the power of the Dead there. Been to the Warfield for Hot Tuna and JGB but I never thought the sound was good there. Favorite place I ever saw the Dead was Cal Expo.

Greek... Red Rocks... Greek... Red Rocks... Greek... Red Rocks... Love 'em both! Also Kaiser was always fun. I liked Park West in Utah, but then I lived in Park City at the time, I walked home through the mountains the first year the Dead played there! Never have done any shows east of Red Rocks, but the Fox Theater in Atlanta always seemed like a nice venue.

I used to love the Carousel Ballroom..saw a couple shows there way back when. I eventually settled on the east coast and came to love The Knick in Albany. That would have to be my favorite indoor venue. Only saw a few outdoor shows here..Oxford Plains, ME would be at the top.

Those Oxford shows were huge and I loved the area that the place is in, but I can't say that I particularly loved the facility (for those not familiar Oxford Plains is an older race track and the stage was on one end of the infield). There was a good amount of space in the back, however. My folks retired to Freeport and I love getting back there whenever possible.

Boston Garden was also a favorite--I liked the way its asymmetrical weirdness and jutting overhangs fit with the Dead's unorthodox approach. Also, i'm a long-suffering but devoted Bruins fan, and nothing was cooler than seeing Jerry wailing away underneath the #4 banner for Bobby Orr, the greatest defenseman who ever laced 'em up.

Have a soft spot for the "mausoleum" aka Nassau Coliseum, but only b/c I saw my first show there (and many others). Ugly building, though. Come to think of it, most places I saw the Dead were non-descript indoor or mega-outdoor arenas.

I remember going to see this scruffy bunch of crazy musicians at the Cafe A GoGo in New York in 1967. Damn it was loud. The place was downstairs from the Garrick Theater where Frank Zappa's Mother's were the house band at the time. You'd walk down a stairwell where the walls were oozing with dayglo paint under black lights a la Jackson Pollack on acid. Such strange odors; such a smokey room. Such LOUD music. Viola Lee Blues, the nascent Alligator. Whew. I was all of fifteen at the time; it left an impression that will never fade away. Of course, there were also all those fabulous moments at the Fillmore East and the Academy of Music run--sitting on the lip of the balcony looking down at the tie dyed speakers and Pig Pen sitting behind the organ.

I've been lurking for awhile now, and this thread kinda called out to me. Agreed that it's tough to top the Carousel or the Cafe Au Go Go (!) I was active from 77 to 91, mostly in the Bay, so my faves are sort of provincial.

Loved the Oakland Aud (it'll always be the Aud to me)--saw more shows there than anywhere else.

The Greek and the Frost--tough call, both great with many great shows.

Winterland--Where I "got it"--6/9/77 (how could I not?)

Red Rocks--only saw one run (83),but that was enough

Honorable mention: Warfield, Cal Expo, MacArthur Ct, Ventura

Well, I guess I'm out of the closet now. I look forward to being a more active participant.

I loved Boston Garden as well, but..after the last show of the 91 run, and the severely altered state I was in, leaving the show and stepping out into the so called real world and the police presence therein was an experience I would prefer not to repeat.

That would also have to be a very important criteria: How harsh is the transition from show to "real world"? This is why I love Red Rocks so much. Coming out of the show, you are still in an incredible place with nothing around you but other Heads (security was very discreet when I went, I don't remember even being aware of them)

Favorite venue...
There were several. I always liked Hampton Coliseum. General admission seating and they always seemed to play good shows there. Some nights that place was a spaceship that took us to universes far from our own.
Alpine Valley was also pretty cool. HUGE camping scene and good shows. One year we stayed at a near by state park - "Richard H. Bong Recreation Area". There was a lake and all the Deadheads got to swim in bong water...
Other favorites...
Deer Creek
SPAC - marshmallow wars.
Rochester's Silver Stadium - funky little place.
RFK - classic stadium.
JFK - too bad they tore it down. (Did anyone ever get the itchy feet while at JFK? Something was on the grass?)

But I would have to say my absolute favorite was the Greek Theatre. Awesome!!!!!!

I often felt that the venue not only greatly affected my enjoyment of the show, but also colored the band's performance. There were certain places that they just seemed to get off on, even if the sound sucked or securtiy was harsh or whatever.

I have seen shows up and down the entire east coast and ventured out to the west as well. I am a little bias but the "home town" shows at the Spectrum have always been my fav. You could always count on a great Shakedown Street most times during a philly stint at the Spectrum!

Surprised no one has mentioned Great American Music Hall in SF- It is still around- back in 2002 I was corporeally at a trade show there- and a benefit show was going on- I remember Vince being There- and David Nelson, as well as Barry Sless and another guitarist whose name I forget who was big on the west coast in the 60's for his psychedelic playing- lysergic playing-

I am finding it funny that I think in typos- so it was not my fingers or keyboards all those years- my brain was not right

Back in 78 folks at Fox in Atlanta were so nice to us northern deadheads, what I can remember is a nice ole theatre with stars painted on the ceiling,and ushers who escorted you to your seat!
Hampton for all the already mentioned plus the awesome "shakedown street" scene and all tose twirlers throhjout the hallways!
RAAAceway Park NJ, cause the sheer magnitude of being incased by box cars in a field of mud surrounded by thousands of freaks

The mellowest security I ever witnessed was at the Downs at Santa Fe. The venue there was either owned or run by the Sikhs. They provided water trucks for the campers, patrolled the campgrounds in a very subdued manner and kept the peace at the shows without any major incidents and in a very unconfrontational manner. I saw one incident at the '82 show where a fan was getting beligerent with other fans and the security subdued him very gently, took him out of the venue and then sat him down on the grass and let him go.

Well, I am probably the only person who had Oakland Coliseum(inside) as their fav. venue. Mostly because I worked for the GS Warriors and knew ALL the security. I could just walk-in the arena at about 4-5pm and wait around for the show. I'll never forget it. Coming in w/ street clothes and then, as soon as they opened the gates, grabbing great seats and doing a quick change into tie-dye.

Yeah, I love Cal Expo. I saw probably most of my GD shows at the Colliseum High Flow. Used to score killer seats on the Phil side side risers, as close as you can get without the speakers blocking the stage, a little higher than level with the band. Only reason was I was just one guy in the mix of a lot of others so it was never a problem for them to squeek me into a great seat. Considering that vantage point I love the Colliseum too. They used to do amazing thing with the surround sound. Unfortunatly audience tapes never came out very good out of that place.

We had a similar spot at the Kaiser--except it was in the balcony, as there wer no seats on the sides of the stage. We looked right down onto the stage--great views. We called it "the library", 'cause we'd go up there to "study" the boys--especially to watch Jer and PL work it during the 2nd set jams.

Yep. I was on Jerry's side though. Always 4th row riser, same closeness. For Chinese NY and Mardi Gras, there were no better seats than the first 10 rows of risers in the 1st 5 sections from the stage. It was MONEY, baby! That was my living room, or so I imagined.

had a lot of really fun experiences at the Colisseum too! Good shows, good people, good fun, very high and happy! Though not nearly as well connected, I was backstage at the Colisseum more than anywhere else. Drank a little too much tequila one night and could not find my way back to the auditorium. Looked at my backstage sticker the next day and it says "Lost somewhere"! Go figger again...

that night at BG was a Sunday night and the local authorities wanted to clear out the area quickly for Monday's traffic, etc. I was severely altered that evening and stepped out of a wonderful show, sweaty and hot, to the sight of a gazillion flashing blue lights and cops on bullhorns saying "PLEASE STEP AWAY FROM THE BUILDING..KEEP MOVING" and here I was wondering what country I'd just stepped into. And then trying to locate friends (trying to keep the few of us together as well) and the sudden realization that I had to drive home (thankfully a non altered friend did) made things a little on the scary side. I'll save the readership the stuff that took place between our exit from the building and the arrival at my car..

Phoenix is an interesting place when it comes to the Indian history. The original inhabitants built a complex series of canals to bring water from the Salt River to irrigate crops (believe it or not the soil is very rich, it just needs water). The canal system that is used today throughout Phoenix largely follows the same routes as the original system those people built 1000 years ago. As for Compton Terrace, I love the desert, but I could never get my head around that place; dirt, dust, horrendous traffic. I was very happy when shows shifted to Desert Sky > Blockbuster > Cricket Arena in the West.

I saw some great shows at SHoreline including the one they made a vault release out of but yet I hated that venue. 1st off the grass hil was WAY too steep, second I allways seemed to have horrible luck there in regards to getting left without a ride. Two or three times I had to pay $70 for a cab ride back to Alameda

The Shoreline....i parked in the upper lot and spaced out where. When i left, it took me 2hrs to find my car...i loved the Deadlot scene there, especially when it was down by the ticket office.
Had good friends that sold Tiedye shirts inside the venue there, Robin & Lee

yeah, i think they made the Cable Channel feed for the 1993(or was it 92...) Shoreline summer solstice show, at intermission a cable guy with a remote camera walks up the left past the totem pole-panning by and into some of the vendors stands, theirs too, hey! does anyone have a GOOD VHS of that cable show?(it was a PPV)
My friends VCR was set to extra long play-not so good...i think he taped it over some golf or something also. Btw, 25 min ago it was 420 in Sydney...RIP Steve

Indoor:
Fox in Atlanta for setting (with Lunt Fontane a close second, but that only applies to JGB)
Kaiser for fun in the halls

Outdoor:
Greek over the Red Rocks if forced to choose (Friday the 13th full moon Dark Star - those opening notes and the thunderous roar). While Chief Hosa was fun, UC football players working secuirty and Hells Angels hassling folks could induce some not fun moments. I also really enjoyed the Frost - it felt like they were playing in your back yard.

Uncle Johnny.... how about that smell at shoreline? A breeze blowing the right way and you get all that trash. Lovely. Never encountered the infamose gas geisers that supposedly popped up from the ground in the lawn section.

No live flames for me Shoreline, but getting stuck in the back parking lot in that fine garbage fill dust put minor sqabbles into perspective. On the other hand seeing Bill Graham pick up garbage in the grass and interact with people was good.

To be honest, I don't even remember that! Maybe my pshyche blocked it out? The other thing I remember is it took all damn set break if you needed to take a leak. Used to piss me off ( no pun intended )

i used to come in with 4 liters of dark Microbrew, I'd empty 2- 2liter plastic cheep Coke bottles and refill with Ice cold brew in the lot-slow-careful-little foam.
carefully Re-seal the cap w/clear cement, put into the plastic safeway bag with some deli sandwiches...someone else bring a cooler with Ice, cups.
Like I'd just been to the store-Worked every time
Beat the hell outa $6-$8 brewz. I got into many a venue like that also-
which made those p-lines ohhhhh so loooong!

lehighvet88; I just got home from work, re Red Rocks that's the only time the stormtroopers ever showed, I made all but 1 or2 GD runs there, and they were all very pleasant. I did get tackled in the parking lot before a show once... By an old friend I had not seen in years!

And just a question for you easterners. Not a mention of Barton Hall? I never met a tape from there that I didn't like!

I forgot Frost Amphitheater too, fine venue and bonfires on the beach at Half Moon Bay afterwords. No buzzkill there!!!

I like Kaiser the best, esp the hallways to go visit the beer drinkers. I actually got to see someone possessed by the tiger at the Year of the Tiger show. Didn't notice him until Jerry and Bobby looked up.

The Greek (Bay, close, decorations) and Stanford (green tree bowl) also are nice, except Frost had frat boys who made fun of odd heads.

When seeing a show in the old days I always preferred to be outside as I had a tendency to become claustrophobic when getting "all unecessary" (the one memorable quote from the movie "Rush" with Gregg Allman as the bad guy). Now that I no longer subject the remainining brain cells I do have to such abuse, I too prefer the old-style theaters for sound, ambiance, and closeness to the band.